hello. i'm wolf blitzer in washington. we're following breaking news. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. we have just learned that president obama is about to step into the white house briefing room. there you see the reporters, the producers, the camera crews, they're all getting ready. the president is going to make a statement, we're told, on ukraine. this is a surprise addition to the president's schedule. we don't know what he is going to say. but let's bring in our white house correspondent michelle kosinski. only moments ago they alerted us the president would be walking

into the briefing room. michelle, this is an important day. lots going on. set the scene for us. unfortunately, michelle is no longer there. we're going to reconnect with her. we just lost her a moment. our chief national security correspondent is here. jim, standby for a minute. michelle is now ready. michelle, are you there? >> i hear you now, wolf. >> set the stage for us because as our viewers have just been told the president is about to make a statement on ukraine. now, what do we know? >> right, we expect to hear from him soon. events are happening quickly. now we're hearing from russia after the foreign minister met with other leaders today in rome saying that he did not find common ground with the west. he was going to take the suggestions that secretary of state kerry made to him to sit down and talk to ukraine, to let in international observers. take those back to president putin and then make a decision from there. he didn't respond directly to the sanctions that were imposed

by the u.s. today with the president signing this executive order targeting individuals that would be deemed by the u.s. government to have undermined democracy in ukraine, threatened security, misappropriated state funds or exerted authority without authorization from the government of ukraine. also makes it -- put a prohibition on funding this kind of activity. and also visa bans, not letting people into the united states as well as revoking visas. senior administration officials told us today that they were still working on the asset bands as to who exactly would be targeted. but when it comes to the visas, they already had a list of people who would not be able to gain access to the u.s. and if they're already here or already had a visa, those would be revoked. and they're being notified now, wolf. >> and so the president presumably will be elaborating on that. we don't know if he has a major announcement to make, but he does want to speak about the

situation in ukraine. that's why they have literally just moments ago alerted the news media that the president will walk into the briefing room and make that statement. jim sciutto is here, gloria borger is here as well. it's not everyday the president says i want to speak to the american people, indeed the world, and let them know something. we don't know what he's about to say. >> no question it will be interesting to hear what he has to say. you have this diplomatic path underway in rome and europe led by secretary of state john kerry. but it's stumbling at this point as michelle noted russian foreign minister that he's now found common ground with the u.s. on a way forward. and they can't even find and agree on the format for getting the ukrainian foreign minister involved in these talks. as you know since yesterday this has been the goal of secretary of state john kerry. carried him on his plane from kiev to paris hoping to get lavrov and ukraine foreign minister in the same room. the word is today they're still working on a format. i think the danger here is we're getting in the stage where there

are talks about talks. and what are those talks producing? meanwhile at the same time you have facts on the ground in ukraine, in crimea, that are with each day passing become more established facts on the ground. and the fact is that russia has those troops on the ground, russia is establishing control. you have political moves now taking place in crimea, a vote coming up talking about auto autoautonomy, so the longer you talk about progress -- >> hold on, gloria, jim acosta's in the briefing room right now getting more information. what are you learning? >> just talked to a senior administration official in the last few moments. pardon me here, everybody is getting set in the briefing room. a senior official told us moments ago not to expect any major announcements from the president but he will reinforce where the administration stands this morning with respect to ukraine, with respect to russia. i suspect he will talk about those sanctions. we'll talk about the visa bans that michelle and jim just talked about. but one of the crucial questions at this hour, wolf, is the

unfolding situation in crimea from a political standpoint. this talk that perhaps they might try to seek to become part of russia and they may be voting on this. ukraine has obviously said they're opposed to that and now the state department has said, no, that is not going to happen unless ukraine, the government in kiev, signs off on that. and so there is sort of a diplomatic political question here for this president. we'll have to wait and see if he addresses that as well. we're hearing from a senior white house administration official this is reinforcing where things stand now. he may talk about john kerry, talk about the diplomatic efforts that jim and everybody has talked about. >> hold on, jim. here comes the president. let's listen in. >> good afternoon everybody. before jay takes some of your questions, i want to provide a brief update on our efforts to address the ongoing crisis in ukraine. since the russian intervention we've been mobilizing the international community to condemn this violation of international law and to support the people and government of ukraine. this morning i signed an

executive order that authorizes sanctions on individuals and enemies responsible for violating the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the ukraine, or for stealing the assets of the ukrainian people. according to my guidance the state department has also put in place restrictions on the travel of certain individuals and officials. these decisions continue our efforts to impose a cost on russia. and those responsible for the situation in crimea. and they also give us the flexibility to adjust our response going forward based on russia's actions. we took these steps in close coordination with our european allies. i've spoken to several of our closest friends around the world. and i'm pleased that our international unity is on display at this important moment. already we've moved together to announce substantial assistance for the government in kiev. and today in brussels our allies took similar steps to impose costs on russia. i am confident that we are

moving forward together, united in our determination to oppose actions that violate international law. and to support the government and people of ukraine. and that includes standing up for the principle of state sovereignty. the proposed referendum on the future of crimea would violate the ukrainian constitution and violate international law. any discussion about the future of ukraine must include the legitimate government of ukraine. in 2014 we are well beyond the days when borders can be redrawn over the heads ovf democratic leaders. while we take these steps, i want to be clear there's also a way to resolve this crisis that respects the interests of the russian federation as well as the ukrainian people. let international monitors into all of ukraine, including crimea, to ensure the rights of all ukrainians are being respected, including ethnic russians. begin consultations between the

government of russia and ukraine with the participation of the international community. russia would maintain its basing rights in crimea provided that it abides by its agreements and respects ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. and the world should support the people of ukraine as they move to elections in may. that's the path of de-escalation. and secretary kerry is engaged in discussions with all relevant parties including russia and ewe yan, to pursue that path. but if this violation of international law continues, the resolve of the united states and our allies and the international community, will remain firm. meanwhile, we've taken steps to reaffirm our commitment to the security and democracy of our allies in eastern europe and to support the people of ukraine. one last point, there's been a lot of talk in congress about these issues. today once again i'm calling on congress to follow-up on these

words with action. specifically to support the imf's capacity to lend resources to ukraine and to provide american assistance for the ukrainian government so that they can weather this storm and stabilize their economy, make needed reforms, deliver for their people all of which will provide a smoother pathway for the elections that have already been scheduled in may. today, the world can see that the united states is united with our allies and partners in upholding international law and pursuing a just outcome that advances global security and the future that the ukrainian people deserve. that's what we're going to continue to do in the days to come until we have seen the resolution to this crisis. thanks very much. and jay and ben and others will be happy to take your questions. >> so there you have the president of the united states making a very strong statement, a statement seen not only here in the united states but around the world, especially in moscow.

he's clearly making the point there is a way out diplomatically, but in the meantime the u.s. will start using sanctions as a way to get involved and make sure that russia does not formally take over part of sovereign ukraine which would be crimea. let's bring in nicholas burns, former u.s. diplomat, who's been watching from harvard university. nick, this looks like a stand up for all practical purposes, i think this referendum they've scheduled in the coming days in crimea to become part -- formally part of russia, it seems that train is leaving the station although the president says flatly that would be a violation of international law. >> well, the president's correct about that. and, wolf, i think you're hearing from the president of the united states deep frustration over the unwillingness of the russian government to meet anybody halfway here. a referendum in crimea on march 16th would be farcical because

no people can have -- while meeting with force. and recent polls in the last couple of months in crimea seem to indicate a lot of people in crimea want to stay with ukraine. you saw, wolf, the president put forward and announced again these sanctions. if the u.s. and eu can work in tandem, if they can both push sanctions, there's a chance they could raise the cost to president putin for what's happened. >> are these sanctions announced by the president and the white house today, are they really going to make any difference in terms of affecting putin's thinking? >> you know, i think putin is confirmed in his strategy. he's trying to keep ukraine in the orbit of russia. that's why he invaded crimea. and that's why he's trying to intimidate the new government in ukraine. he's used the same tactics, as you know, with georgia in 2008, with meldova, with armenia. i don't think the sanctions will change his behavior, but they're going to further isolate him. and they're going to impose some

costs. and it's very important that there be this economic and political pushback by germany, by the united states and the rest of europe on russia. >> that's critically important. i know you've got to run, nick burns, thanks very much. u.s. retired diplomat and now at the kennedy school harvard. gloria borger here with me now. you heard the president, we all heard the president, jim, very strong statement. the key question he says he thinks the allies can work together, he's confident that the u.s. and europeans can work together. is that confidence well -- >> you did have a statement from the european council president saying the eu would impose sanctions as well if moscow doesn't change its ways there. but that of course has to be backed up with action. it appears the spark for the president's comment was the referendum, the idea of a march 16th referendum for independence in crimea. but also as nick burns said, his frustration. i mean the paths that so far the president has chosen as their

strategy for this unified sanctions, they're not moving very quickly at this point. the diplomatic path, as we were talking before the president came on, they're still talking about the format for talks. and meanwhile thai talking about talks the facts on the ground are still being established. >> what i think you mean by that is that there's russian domination of crimea no matter what occurs in this referendum. and i think what you're hearing from the president reading between the lines is, look, as nick burns says, it's a farce. it's illegitimate. we know in advance what the outcome of this referendum is going to be, so i'm going to tell you before the vote that it doesn't really matter. but in essence no matter what vote occurs to a certain degree putin has accomplished what he set out to accomplish, which is to, you know, to establish his dominance there and sort of no matter what else occurs. and i think that's what's sort of frustrating the administration and frustrating the president. >> i think here's my question to

both of you, it looks to me like john kerry, the secretary of state, doesn't seem to be making much progress in his talks with sergei lavrov, the russian foreign minister. otherwise the u.s. would not have released these sanctions, announced all these sanctions that were announced today, the president would not be going out in the middle of intensive diplomacy making a strong statement like this. it looks like maybe the president thinks that this kind of tough talk and tough action from the u.s. can help kerry. others still say, well, kerry doesn't seem to be doing much anyhow so the u.s. might as well start taking those kinds of actions. >> we'll see. sergei lavrov says he has to go back to russia now to confirm the format. you can make that decision on the ground, you can make a phone call back to moscow. it appears they're dragging this out. you know, talking about what russia has accomplished here, steven hadly, former national security advisor for president bush was on the air last night. he made a good point about the strategy. it's not just about military action, it's about russia

establishing question marks in various countries. they did the in georgia, they had the two breakaway provinces, they're doing it now here that makes it impossible for a country like ukraine to join the eu or nato. >> so the more ambiguous you make it, the better it is for russia. and that's the problem that they're confronting in the administration. >> the president was pretty blunt right now. he didn't want to take questions from reporters leaving that to his white house press secretary, jay carney. but the president says there will be a cost on russia. he's confident the allies can work together. and as far as the united states is concerned there's a sovereign country of ukraine which includes crimea. crimea is not going to split off as far as the u.s. and european union are concerned although for all practical purposes looks like the russians are controlling. you're watching russian tv and what are they showing? >> in their map they show crimea as a part of russia already. it's a fact on the ground as far

as russian tv is concerned, yeah. speaking about frustration with kerry and lavrov, remember, this is just a month ago syria talks, right secretary kerry invested an enormous amount of time and capital in with lavrov, depending on lavrov's leverage against bashar al assad. those didn't go anywhere either. so two times in a row you've had this immense frustration with russia. >> interesting thing to me also what the president said today is he was calling upon congress to move forcefully with sanctions, et cetera, et cetera. he doesn't really have to do that. congress is already moving on its own and pretty quickly. but i think he's -- >> hold on a second. john kerry, the secretary of state now about to speak himself. >> good evening everybody. it's a great pleasure for me to be back in rome. i'm especially pleased to be here in rome at a time when

italy is making a transition with a new government and making progress, important progress in growing its economy and tackling unemployment. tonight, i will have the pleasure of meeting with italy's new foreign minister. and i'm hopeful we were supposed to also be joined by the prime minister, but he's on his way back from brussels maybe a little bit delayed. we hope he can make it. i want to assure our italian friends that the united states intends to continue to deepen our economic and security partnership with this government including our shared commitment to negotiating an ambitious transatlantic trade and partnership -- investment partnership agreement. we believe that such an agreement would be enormously

helpful to all of our economies, good for europe, good for the united states. it will create jobs, it can help create wealth. and at this time the global economy needs that kind of trade partnership. president obama as you know will be here shortly, at the end of march. and i look forward to joining him here at that time in order to talk about these valuable partnerships and many other issues. the reason that my counterparts and i came to rome today was to demonstrate our commitment altogether, a huge number of countries. they came together to demonstrate our commitment to libya's democratic transition. and we recognize that this is really a pivotal moment for libya. as it drafts a post-revolution constitution and moves towards national reconciliation and

elections. i can tell you that we in america wer still perfecting our democracy and struggling to make it work as effectively as possible and it goes up and down as we all know. we very well know from our own history the difficulties we had centuries ago in developing our constitution and giving it full bloom that this is hard work. it doesn't happen overnight. and it is something that takes devotion and commitment and courage. and i think today we heard from the prime minister and the president of libya their dedication to helping make this transition work. we also know that libyans did not risk their lives in the 2011 revolution just to slip backward into thugery and violence.

as i told the president today as well as prime minister zadan, we have no illusions about the challenges ahead, but we are committed to work very, very closely with the government of libya but also with our partners. and italy is one of the central partners in the effort to help libya in this transition, together with france, great britain, germany and others. and we will continue to work closely to fight terrorism, to prevent the spread of conventional weapons and to secure those weapons where they should be secured. and to build democratic institutions. now, let me say a word about a subject that i know is on everybody's mind, and that's the question of ukraine. just a few moments ago president obama spoke in washington and laid out the steps that he has ordered with respect to the

situation at this time which are in keeping with precisely what we said last week we would do as a consequence of the steps that russia decided to take with respect to crimea. as you have heard me say all week, the choices that russia has made escalated this situation. and we believe that russia has the opportunity now together with the rest of us, but russia particularly has the opportunity now to make the right choices in order to de-escalate. the united states also has choices to make. and president obama has been clear that we cannot allow russia or any country to defy international law with impuimpu. there's no place in the community of nations for the kind of aggression and steps that we have seen taken in

crimea and ukraine in these last days. so today as we announced we would last week, we have taken specific steps and the state department also has taken specific steps in response to what has occurred. starting today president obama's direction, the state department is putting in place tough visa restrictions on a number of officials and other individuals. the united states will not grant visas to those who threaten the sovereignty or territorial integrity of ukraine. and if they already have one, it will be revoked in those individual cases. let me remind you that this decision comes on top of our existing policy to deny visas to those who are involved in human rights abuses or political oppression in ukraine. and it is also on top of other

steps that the united states has already taken, which we have announced. now, at the same time president obama has issued an executive order that gives the treasury department the legal framework to sanction those who threaten ukraine's sovereignty, security and democracy. those who contribute to the misappropriation of ukraine's state assets, and just as importantly, those who try to assert government authority over any part of ukraine without authorization from the legitimate government in kiev. i want to emphasize, and there's a reason why only the legal framework was put in place and not the specific designations, and that reason is that even as we will keep faith with what we have said we would do, we want to be able to have the dialogue

that leads to the de-escalation. we want to be able to continue the intense discussions with both sides in order to try to normalize and end this crisis. and we will absolutely consider if we have to additional steps beyond what we've done but our preference and the president has said this and i have said this, is to emphasize the possibilities for the dialogue that can lead to the normalization and diffusing of this crisis. yesterday in paris we had lengthy discussions. and we met also obviously with our ukrainian counterpart, the foreign minister of ukraine, and discussed with him ukrainian thoughts about what should form the centerpiece of our approach

to this effort to negotiate. and with the ukrainian view in mind and with the input of all of our allies in the european community, we have made suggestions to foreign minister lavrov which he is currently taking personally to president putin, in sochi, i believe. and we have agreed to stay in close touch in order to see if there's a way forward try to get to the negotiating table with the parties necessary to be able to stabilize this. we've been in very close touch all day with our european counterparts, both those who were here in rome as well as by telephone for those who were in brussels. and we agreed that over the course of the next hours, next

days there is an imperative to try to move quickly in order to prevent a mistake or misinterpretation or any other measures that might preclude our opportunity to be able to find the political solution that we believe is the best way to proceed. the ukrainian people we are convinced beyond any doubt whatsoever want nothing more than the right to determine their own future. and they want to be able to live freely in a safe and prosperous country where they can make the choices that people make in other countries around the world. and they have the international community's full support. and while we reserve the right to take steps beyond those things that were announced today, we want to president putin and russia and everyone to understand our preference is to get back to a normality and get

back to a place where the rights of the people of ukraine will be respected and the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the nation will be respected. the united states will continue to stand with ukrainian people as will our allies and friends in the european community and elsewhere in order to stand up for the values that we all believe and that define our fellow democracies. thank you very, very much, and i look forward to the opportunity to take a couple questions. >> great. thank you. the first question from elise labbot of cnn. >> thank you, mr. secretary. you said that the ukrainian people have the right to determine their own future. does that include the people of crimea? don't they have the right to determine their own future. are there any conditions under which the u.s. might accept a referendum as part of the solution? and then on your meeting with

foreign minister lavrov, minister fabia said he's forming this contact group and that the russians might agree. did you talk about this with the minister? and do you see this as a useful mechanism that might happen in the coming days? and lastly, i'm wondering if you talked to him about the fact he told you last week the exercises the russians were doing had nothing to do with ukraine. we now know that that was a pretext to mask the russian intervention -- >> what was the first part of that question? i'm sorry. we now know what? >> we know this exercise did have a lot to do with ukraine and perhaps it was a pretext for russia to go into the crimea. i'm just wondering, you've invested a lot in your relationship with minister lavrov and i'm wondering if you feel misled by him at all and whether you spoke with him about that. thank you. >> well, let me take the first part of that question.

crimea is part of ukraine. crimea is ukraine. and we support the territorial integrity of ukraine and the government of ukraine needs to be involved in any kind of decision with respect to any part of ukraine. any referendum on ukraine is going to have to be absolutely consistent with ukrainian law. and it's my understanding that the constitution of ukraine requires all -- requires an all-ukraine referendum. in other words, every part of ukraine, all ukrainians, would have to be part of a referendum with respect to the territory of ukraine. so therefore the proposed referendum would violate the constitution of ukraine and international law and the sovereignty of ukraine itself.

if it were -- if it adheres to the constitution of ukraine, it's up to ukrainians to define that. it's not up to the united states or russia to make that decision. ukrainians need to live by ukrainian law. and according to the constitution and their constitution would require precisely what i just said. so that is, i think, critical to anything that would flow. secondly, with respect to contact group and where we're proceeding. frankly, i think everybody has been working to put a contact group together. i think it's been a general assumption of all of us in unity that we would like to see if a contact group can be put together. and i think that the key here is whether or not that is going to be something that will work in the context of russia's

willingness to do this. and obviously ukrainian views about this. thus far the ukrainian government has expressed their desire to have the support of a contact group providing of course that the government -- that russia is dealing with them in that context. this can't be in lieu of the government for ukraine and we don't intend for it to be. none of us view this as anything except supportive of the process. but i believe there is a way to structure this. and that is obviously part of what we are now engaged in discussions with russia through foreign minister lavrov and to mr. putin. with respect to relationship with foreign minister lavrov,

it's professional, as all my relationships are with any foreign minister. there are moments in the course of the meeting over a year where you may be able to laugh at something, and there are moments where you disagree and disagree very strongly. and we work professionally, both of us, represent our countries, represent our point of views and try to get the work of diplomacy done. this is obviously a moment where we have disagreement. as we do on some other issues. but where we can we try to find a way forward, whether it's been on chemical weapons in syria or with respect to iran and p5 plus one or other issues, afghanistan and other things. so we will continue to work in a professional manner in order to try to resolve those issues that come to us and to try to do so in a way that advances the global interests of peace and stability and security.

and that's what i'm trying to do. >> our final question comes from olivia from tg 1. >> are you satisfied with the way the european union is dealing with this crisis? there seems to be quite a distance between countries that are close to the position of the united states and countries like germany and italy to some extent. they get their energy supplies from russia. they seem to be much softer on the theme of economic sanctions and so on. that's actually the reason why prime minister might be late for dinner because they're not finding an agreement -- >> actually, they did announce an agreement. >> okay. how do you see the attitude of european union? >> i think the european union has been complete partner thoroughly. complete and total

communication. and sharing of information. and sharing of ideas. i do not believe there is a gap. there may be some differences of opinion about timing or about one particular choice versus another. that's not unusual when you have as many countries working together as we do. but fundamentally with respect to the question of what has happened and the need to protect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of ukraine, there is no difference whatsoever. with respect to the need to have some sanctions as a result of what has happened in crimea, there is no difference whatsoever. and europe on its own tonight has made its announcement through its own process and own debate that they have taken some steps. now, europe joins us in absolutely believing that we are all better served by getting back to a normality and a stability that will come through good diplomacy and good efforts to try to find a path forward that can protect the territorial

integrity of ukraine, protect legitimate interests where they exist of ethnic russians and/or of other agreements like the base agreement and other things that russia has that are in law. those are things that we can deal with. and our hope is that together europe, the united states and others, you know, canada, japan, there are a lot of countries interested in what is happening, and i think they all want to be supportive for a process that de-escalates, that reduces tension. we have a lot of things to do together. we do not need to be distracted or split apart by virtue of what is happened in ukraine. i think it is fair to say, and i have said, that russia does have some interests in the region.

but they need to be dealt with according to law and in a proper way and dealt with in a way that can respect the integrity of the country. and that's what we're trying to do. at the same time ukrainian people have an overriding interest, paramount interest here in having their rights protected, their sovereignty protected, their hopes and aspirations which they died to achieve, that needs to be respected. and that's the tension here. and that's the -- that's what we're trying to balance as we approach a diplomatic and peaceful resolution of this rather than an escalation that could harm the efforts of a lot of other initiatives that we all are focused on. thank you all very much. appreciate it. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> so there he is, the secretary of state john kerry, also making

a strong statement saying crimea is ukraine. there is no difference between crimea and ukraine. that any referendum in the coming days to try to wean crimea away from ukraine, make it part of russia or make it an independent nation, if you will, that is unacceptable. it would be a violation of international law. very strong words from the secretary of state. earlier we heard from the president of the united states. he also was very tough on this issue. jim sciutto's here, gloria borger's here. your quick reaction. >> clearly diplomatic path is still his efforts. the reason we have these in place but haven't activated them is because he wants to keep talks alive, leave the possibility for dialogue. they're still leaving that door open for yet another day even as things drag on. he talked about unity within europe. smart question from the italian reporter there, is there unity? clearly there isn't unity

otherwise they would have acted. poland, right next to ukraine, called for article iv which a country can do when it feels its security is threatened. countries like poland, they're feeling this just based by their position on the map much more than the countries to the west of them. and that's driving a different reaction to this. >> what i heard today from both the president and the secretary of state is immense frustration about this referendum. and, you know, they're calling it illegitimate, unconstitutional. we heard nick burns call it farcical. my question that i have is are they doing what we call in politics a prebuttal knowing what the result of any such referendum would be, would be pro-russia. and are they trying to put the genie back in the bottle here? and will they be able to do it? or has russia, and this is a big question, effectively through the kind of ambiguity of where crimea now is nixed it one way or another.

>> let's ask the u.s. ambassador to ukraine right now. he's joining us on the phone from kiev. what's the answer, ambassador, to that question. for all practical purposes, is crimea under the control of russia right now? >> well, i think, wolf, you heard the answer to that from secretary kerry. it's a strong view of u.s. policy that crimea is part of ukraine and we're going to standby ukraine's territorial integrity as we have for the past 22 years. clearly the events of the past few days are of grave concern. it appears that the russian hold in crimea is tightening. you had nick burns' characterization of the referendum announcement as farcical. it's very hard to imagine any way in which this -- legitimately why you have the country under effective military occupation by unbadged russian forces. so -- but this is an issue on which all ukrainians are united. i mean, one of the things that's

striking to me here in kiev is the agreement you see across the country, and there's been lots of -- but across the country from the east to the west there's a clear desire to see the country stick together. >> well, is it your sense though that if they go ahead with this referendum and presumably the ethnic russians in crimea who feel close to russia may not necessarily trust the government, the new government, in kiev? do you think they would vote to secede an effect? >> it's hard to imagine without observers, with russian troops on the ground, with great deals of political intimidation, you see that already in terms of the kinds of reception that's been given to some of the pro-ukrainian demonstrators that have surfaced in places.

it's hard to predict how this will turn out. but i don't think it matters that much because the important thing is that the ukrainian government is committed to preserving their relationship with crimea. the prime minister has talked about steps to grant crimea greater autonomy under the ukrainian constitution. you also -- we have to remember the situation of the crimean ta tars, historically muz lick population which is supportive of the governments in kiev. >> ambassador, good luck over there. you have a tough job ahead of you. geoffery pyatt. this could have an impact on russia, certainly on ukraine, already has, europe and the united states. fuel exports and imports could be a huge part of this development. today the white house announced the u.s. department of energy will soon make some major decisions about exports of

liquefied natural gas. let's go to new york, richard quest is standing by. richard, what does that mean? >> what it means is if russia decides to use the weapon of its oil and gas exports, not only via and to ukraine but like germany, hungary, czech republic, even as far as france and uk, if they start denying exports of liquid or natural gas, can the u.s. pick up the slack? can the u.s. from its vast and growing production of gas particularly as a result of shale gas so-called fracking, the u.s. has about 110 different facilities for importing and exporting liquefied natural gas. now, it's not easy. and it's very expensive. and frankly if you start getting the gas out in the united states

or be it at a fairly cheap price because of the sheer amount of production, then sending it to the eastern seaboard, liquefying it, putting it on a boat, sending it across to europe and then distributing it, you can start to see this is not a cheap or long-term solution. but, wolf, if russia turns off the taps and a crisis ensues, then, yes, the u.s. is now considering whether it can make up some of that shortness in supply. >> richard quest with that explanation. an important development unfolding. thanks very much. we're going to take a quick break, resume the breaking news coverage on the developments in ukraine. you heard very strong statements from the president of the united states, the secretary of state. standby, more breaking news right after this. for over a decade millions have raised their hand for the proven relief of the purple pill. and that relief could be in your hand. for many, nexium helps relieve heartburn symptoms from acid reflux disease.

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we're following the breaking news on the crisis in ukraine. we heard from the president of the united states, he made an unscheduled visit to the white house briefing room, issued a strong statement, a strong warning to russia. that was immediately followed up by the secretary of state john kerry. elise labott is traveling with the secretary of state. elise, when they're talking about sanctions, the u.s. imposes some unilateral sanctions today, but getting all of the u.s. and european allies on the same page imposing tough new sanctions, the secretary of state was diplomatic saying they're basically in agreement although there are disagreements on timing there are major disagreements. >> well, wolf, if you look at what the u.s. did today, these are very symbolic and meaningful gestures. but what the real -- the

economic sanctions would take some time. and the administration didn't even actually list any russian individuals or entities sanctions. they just kind of laid the framework to do so if they wanted to, if they got coordinated with the europeans and they all agreed. really what they only did was these visa bans. and secretary kerry even said why they did that, because they want to give room for diplomacy to work. if this doesn't work, then they're willing to take these measures. so really saying to the russians, wolf, please don't make us do this. we really don't want to do it. we want to get to the table. we want to get some dialogue going. >> we'll see what the russians do. the ball is now in their court. elise, thanks very much. some members of congress here in washington have been especially harsh on president obama's handling of the crisis. including are those who suggest the u.s. intelligence community missed key signals ahead of russia's invasion of crimea. and the chairman of the house intelligence committee, mike rogers is joining us right now. mr. chairman, thanks very much

for coming in. so did the u.s. intelligence community screw it up, miscalculate what putin's intentions in ukraine, crimea specifically, were? >> i don't think they screwed it up. it's under review now. there were just two different analytical products by two different agencies. one said it was certainly the possibility that they could see more aggressive meaning troop movement into the crimean peninsula. one saying they just didn't think it was going to happen. but all the indicators were there. the intelligence was there. remember, it's always a lot of science and a little bit of art in the analytical product. you have to take not the complete puzzle and try to put it together. so i've ordered a review just to see why the differences were there collection gaps, meaning were there pieces of information the intelligence community from a collection posture missed or didn't get? and how we might be able to fill those in. and why they came to those two different conclusions. so we're going to go through that review. i wouldn't say it was a failure or they got it wrong. again, lots of indicators there.

i think even on friday i came out and said it was clear that the russians were in the crimean peninsula and it was all based on intelligence product i had seen. so i think no way to tell what putin's intentions were up in tto the l minute. >> the dia intelligence mitt on misread the situation. are those the two you are talking about? >> i don't want to talk about the two agencies specifically. again, we are going through the review. there 16 agencies and two produced the analytical product. we are trying to get through and make sure we understand all the information we need to make a good conclusion. not to try to beat them up, this is a tough call at the end of the day. you are talking about the leadership intend and trying to determine that got america in trouble here not that long ago. they have tug and pulled in a

lot of different directions. i want to make sure we have the right resources at the right place and they feel free to make the calls in their analytical product. >> there was a tough exchange the other day, john mccain the republican senator from arizona was grilling chuck hagel, suggesting there were intelligence blunders. i must point out that they issued a strong statement. i am very confident that the appropriate authorities reviewing this matter will determine where wrong-doing if any occurred. the branch or the legislative branch and until then i would encourage others to refrain from outbursts that needs to be maintained between intelligence officials and overseers. you want to do this review right now to make sure lessons are learned and if there were

miscalculations, blunders, they are not repeated down the road. is that right? >> that's correct. you may find there wasn't. we are receiving information and the indicators were there. i have been doing this long enough. i can come to my own conclusions. always better to talk to the analysts who have more experience drilled down in one region. i didn't see any glowing errors. i saw two conclusions. if you are just taking an lit cat conclusions. you have to whole product and all of the information. a lot of indicators were collect and they came to a different conclusion. as i said, a lot of science and art in the analytical part based on the los of experience and lots of education in these areas. the review is maybe we didn't properly resource it and maybe we did. it just came down to a

disagreement on the art portion of theancy and the collection points. >> one final question on vladimir putin and the stories out there that angela merkel, the chancellor of germany said he was living in another world in a conversation she had with the president of the united states. the former secretary of state madeleine albright here on the new day, she said that putin may be "delusional." you are privy to the est mays on putin. is he living in another world or savvy, shrewd and smart some. >> i think he is savvy, shrewd, and smart. this is not isolated. he has been successful in his invasion of the country of georgia. in the last six months or so, he expanded the borders further into georgia. he said for troop protection. that was successful.

no real ramifications from the 2007 cyber attack that was just brutal across that area. he has been successful in making us back down on missile defense. we took four base missiles out of poll ant and the czech republic that caused problems with the allies. he did well on the nuclear negotiations and tactical nukes taken off the table and a big win for the russians. he sees this as a long-term game and he is experiencing long-term successes. if anyone thinks he woke up in the morning and decided to do something in the crimean peninsula, they are fooling themselves. he had the legislature teed up and they said if any portion of the ukraine partitions to be part of russia, they will welcome them. the legislature said russian troops can go into the ukraine. all of that was preset and going into the olympics, many people including me were saying watch

what happens after the olympics. he telegraphed that significantly. i think people are fooling themselves. nato has been cutting the defense budgets and nation states are reducing their contribution rates and have over the last decade. if anyone is living in the wrong world right now, i think it's them. we need to reengage in the notion that the reason nato is there is to stop. the soviet march into the west. i would argue that putin has the same designs. he will do it in a different way and same designs. >> thanks for your analysis. >> congratulations on the 42 shows you are doing across the day. >> thank you very much. mike rogers is a chairman of the house intelligence committee. happy he is watching cnn.

what he said was very significant about vladimir putin, the russian president. he is not delusional and not living in another world. he is savvy, shrewd and smart. if anyone is living in another world, it's the nato allies cutting back on the defense spending right now. we will follow-up the latest news in "the situation room" later today. samantha power, the u.s. nations ambassador is outspoken on the issues and will join me live. thanks very much for watching. newsroom with brooke baldwin starts right after a quick break. (music) defiance is in our bones. defiance never grows old.

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and find the aarp medicare supplement plan to go the distance with you. go long. . here we go. top of the hour. i'm brooke baldwin and thank you for being with me on this thursday. a huge day of news, minutes apart. pressing one message. huh president barack obama. secretary of state john kerry reinforcing the message that there is a unified move to get russia to back off from u crape. each spoke in the last hour on the crisis we have been watching. we have thousands of russian troops occupying crimea, the pro russian peninsula in ukraine. today lawmakers there voted to join russia and to put the final call, the final vote on the prop